We didn't sail, but...: Ich bin ein Wiener

Upon seeing this photo in the national history museum in Vienna, I couldn't help but think, what would JFK have said if he made his famous speech in Wien/Vienna instead of Berlin? And I couldn't get it out of my potty-brain so it gets to be the latest blog post title. My mother must be proud!

Speaking of mom, I'm currently on the train to Frankfurt to catch a plane to the USA where, among other things, I'm going to help her get ready for her big move. But more on that after it happens; I plan to use this train ride to write about our wonderful trip to meet Stu in Vienna!

On October 24th Matthias and I boarded an early morning train to Nürnberg, where we decided to spend a night before continuing on to Vienna. It was a great plan, particularly because our train was delayed (but even if it wasn't the 10 hour trip to Vienna would have been a bit too much.) As it turned out, we arrived in Nürnberg at noon instead of 10:30 AM, so we were able to check in at our hotel and go right to lunch at a middle eastern cafe nearby. The food was good, and we assumed the restaurant was pretty authentic since we had never seen or heard of the dishes that we ate and nobody around us was speaking German. After a quick bite there, we walked into the old town of Nürnberg, where I wanted to take the tour of the labyrinth of tunnels that were used for various purposes over the centuries, most significantly to brew and store beer in the middle ages. The tour was nice, and so was walking around the old town. We ended up, of course, sampling the famous beer and eating a regional delight (Shäufele) for dinner.

Nürnberg

Street in Nürnberg

The next morning, we grabbed breakfast (I had Nürnberger sausage, which I think tastes like Jimmy Dean sausage so perfect for breakfast!) and easily got our direct train to Vienna. We were even a few minutes early meeting Stu at the hotel where he had spent his first night in Vienna so we took some time to grab a cup of coffee before checking into our two bedroom apartment/hotel a couple of blocks away. After getting situated, we walked into Central Vienna--about a mile from our accommodation--to St. Stephen's Church, through the grand pedestrian plazas and the Hofburg palace. Behind the palace, the Heldenplatz (heroes square), was chock full of tanks, tents, and various army fixtures. They were on display there because the next day (26 October) was a national holiday, and recruitment/national pride in the military was a theme, presumably due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We found it a bit creepy and mood-ruining, so continued on toward the scenic Rathaus and Votivkirche, which we took a look at from the outside. By then it was time for dinner, so we walked back through town to a Cellar restaurant, which was festive but the food was just okay (Matthias was a bit distressed that there were only tourists there.) And then we walked home, where, after appreciating the reproductions of Gustav Klimt art hanging throughout the apartment, Stu and I found a way to stream "Woman in Gold" (the film and then a documentary) on the smart TV in his bedroom. Good intro to Vienna!

Hoffburg palace

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Taking a break in central Wien

The next day (Austrian National Day), we got transit passes and took the Ringstrasse bahn (the ring road tram) that took us past a bunch of massive historic buildings. We got off at the Rathaus and walked over to the Votivkirche (Votive Church) to have a look inside at the beautiful stained glass windows. We then happened upon a traditional Austrian restaurant (crowded with locals, to Matthias' delight) and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. Then on to Kaisergruft (crypt), where we gawked at all the dead royals including, most famously, Sissi and Franz Josef. After that we went to the Secession museum, checked out the Karlskirche (from the outside) and walked back home. We tried a local restaurant for dinner (meh) and had a relaxing evening in the apartment watching the Netflix series the Empress (about Sissi and the Hapsburgs) to stay in the mood.

Kaisergruft

Klimt murals at Secession Museum - the highlight
(and only part of the museum we liked.)

Ok, the outside of the Secession Museum was cool, too.

On day three we started out walking about the grounds at Schönbrunn palace. Had a lovely lunch at an outdoor cafe there and then walked over to the Vienna Zoo! It was crowded, but really nice. Somehow after that Stu had enough energy to do the castle tour while Matthias and I ducked into a wine bar. We caught the subway back to hotel for short rest and then back downtown to dinner. Luckily the place I found on the internet was closed, so we ended up at the Rathaus Keller, which was really lovely. After dinner we wandered over to the hall where we had tickets for a Classical Viennese concert. It was wonderful. Stu and I were both deeply enamored with with the clarinetist and Matthias managed to stay awake and even enjoy the music, though he couldn't help but mutter about how touristy it was.

Schönbrunn palace grounds

Pretty day by Schönbrunn Palace

Giraffes at the Zoo!

I think I might have pushed some kiddies out of the way
to get this picture of the lions! Sorry!

Fabulous dinner at the Rathaus Keller

The next morning, we had tickets to see a practice at the Spanish Riding School, but first we took a walk around Hofburg. It was nice to see the Heldenplatz without the military show - it looked totally different and elegant! We strolled through the gardens and back to the riding school rehearsal, which was interesting, and where Matthias enjoyed friendly conversation with an American, who, let's just say, doesn't share our views. We then went to a traditional Viennese cafe, Cafe Frauenhuber, for lunch and dessert and then on to the Austrian national history museum at the Neue Burg (wing of the palace which also houses the national library.) The exhibits were great and the building itself was gorgeous! Once we got back home, Stu was too full for dinner but Matthias and I ventured out again to the restaurant where Stu ate on his first night in town - it was great!

Spanish Riding School. Photographs weren't allowed
so I didn't get a shot of the horses.

Yummy cafe!

One of the halls in the National Library

On our final day in Wien we started out with a walk through our neighborhood (new Jewish quarter) over to the local market (Karmelitermarkt). Then we took a lovely Saturday stroll over to the Prater, an historic park/amusement park and had lunch at the busy biergarten in the park. Matthias and I shared a huge Haxe/pork knuckle (called Stelze in Austrian German). Then we tried to walk that off by heading further through the park and to the Hundertwasser village, an area designed by the quirky Austrian architect whose stuff reminds me of Gaudi (he also designed a building in Magdeburg.) We then made our way slowly back to the apartment for packing and preparing for early departure the next day. Stu was thrilled to have scored a seat on the non-stop back to NYC, and his later departure meant that he could take a train to the airport. We went out to the local restaurant for our last dinner and the next morning we were up and out early on our way home.

Prater!

Lunch at the Prater.

Bathrooms at the Hundertwasser Village - Funky!

On the way back home, Matthias and I stopped over in Prague (again, to break up the trip.) It was a five hour train ride which got us there around lunchtime. We were able to check into our charming hotel before heading over to a very busy and trendy self-service butcher shop/meat restaurant. After lunch, we took a scenic walk around Prague, trying to avoid the throngs of tourists in the major historic/scenic areas. We did get a nice view of the castle, walked down some pretty avenues and stopped by the Kafka statue before settling down for delicious Czech beer and some mediocre food, The next morning, we boarded our train/bus combo to Dresden, and because we were booked flexibly on regional trains for the rest of the way home, we decided to stop for lunch in Dresden at an outpost of one of our favorite haunts, Watzke, near the train station. It was a lovely day and we had a good time reminiscing and thinking about a possible future in Dresden before catching our train home. Just one missed connection and we still got home at about 7pm. Not bad at all.